Pennsylvania GOP disputes assertions in bombshell Atlantic story

One day after Pennsylvania’s Republican state party chairman was quoted in a national magazine raising the possibility of an electoral college meltdown in the Keystone State, party officials issued a statement denouncing the reporter, and emphasizing a commitment to timely and accurate election results.

In a statement released Thursday, a party spokeswoman claims that comments by state GOP Chairman Lawrence Tabas were taken out of context in a story published Wednesday by The Atlantic, which surveyed constitutional experts and political scientists about scenarios facing the Electoral College if the results of the popular vote are still unclear 35 days after the Nov. 3 presidential election.

Tabas told Atlantic reporter Barton Gellman that he spoke with the Trump reelection campaign about the possibility of the Republican-controlled legislatures in battleground states directly appointing electors if the popular vote is not resolved – a scenario that would award Trump Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral college votes, and likely the election.

Gellman says this maneuver would rely on a little-used power in the U.S. Constitution, which allows states legislatures to appoint electors in any manner they see fit.

Read more: https://www.penncapital-star.com/government-politics/pa-gop-disputes-assertions-in-bombshell-atlantic-story/